Tricks From Behind the Curtain

Whether you’re reading this column because you’re an e-mail expert or a novice, chances are you have experienced the same thing at some point and time in your career: you need to get your e-mail to do something that seems impossible. If so, you are in luck, because this week’s column is focused on revealing a few tricks of e-mail from behind the curtain. You might even find a magical solution to one of your e-mail needs if you keep reading.

1. E-mail knows all. That’s right…sending one e-mail with the right cookie can give you the ability to gather data beyond just opens and clicks. Enable your e-mail to capture the operating system, mobile carrier, and even device manufacturer, and start understanding how mobile your e-mail readers are.
2. Your e-mail does double duty. Ever wish you had an optimal landing page for your marketing program only to find there aren’t enough resources or time to complete what you want? No sweat. Build it in your e-mail system and use the “Click here to view this link as HTML” button as the link for a makeshift landing page. Totally simple. Great results.
3. Personal e-mail beware. Ever wish you knew who opened your personal e-mail, without using those pesky “track receipt” buttons? Build an e-mail in your e-mail system, send it to yourself as a test, then use the forward button on your e-mail to send it out. Voila! Your personal e-mail is now tracking everything your marketing messages are too.
4. Need more traffic to your website? E-mail is your answer. This last trick is an oldie but a goodie. Many companies put a lot of time, attention, and content into their e-mail programs. Yet, often, those programs don’t drive results outside of the inbox. Why? Because the content is captured inside the e-mail itself. Unleash your content by posting it on your website. This way, search engines can crawl the content and help increase your organic index.

And there you have it – just a few tips and tricks from behind the magical e-mail curtain. Hopefully you can put these to good use. Do you have a trick or tip to share? Comment and let’s make a list.